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No Such Thing as Society
- A History of Britain in the 1980s
- Narrated by: David Holt
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
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No Such Thing as Society
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Summary
The 1980s was the revolutionary decade of the 20th century. From the Falklands war and the miners' strike to Bobby Sands and the Guildford Four, from Diana and the New Romantics to Live Aid and the 'big bang', from the Rubik's cube to the ZX Spectrum, McSmith's brilliant narrative account uncovers the truth behind the decade that changed Britain forever - politically, economically and culturally.
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What listeners say about No Such Thing as Society
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- M. D. Wilson
- 17-12-20
5 stars all the way
Interesting and even fascinating if you grew up in the 80s. It will bring back many fond memories.
One of my top 10 in over 200 various books.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Georgia Di Pietro
- 17-03-20
fascinating, well structured and delivered
really well structured with themes per chapter like comedy/ sports/ northern Ireland/ the banks/ music. Engagingly read and pitched just right
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- John
- 21-07-15
Solid enjoyable read
If you could sum up No Such Thing as Society in three words, what would they be?
A very good history/general knowledge book of the UK in the 1980s. Well worth your time.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Paul
- 04-03-13
Great
I really enjoyed this as I grew up in the 80s. Lots of very interesting stuff in this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 01-03-22
Interesting listen
Really interesting to hear more about things I heard growing up, putting some things into a little more perspective and understanding. Well written and well read too
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Manish
- 09-01-19
Britain in the 1980s
This is overall a competent summary of the social, political and economic history of the UK in the 1980s. I stress the word "summary" which is exactly what it is. It is quite short and lacks any real analysis. My immediate comparison is Dominic Sandbrook's series which has a much greater amount of analysis and in particular characterisations of the main players. The narration of Sandbrook's books is also more entertaining with voice characterisations. But overall an enjoyable listen.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- William
- 05-04-21
Competent review of the 80s
A satisfying review of the major events of the decade. Descriptive rather than analytical, with major strands in politics and culture well defined
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- ASL
- 02-04-20
A memorial to a turbulent decade.
A well read reminder of the decade that changed Britain for good. Political, sometimes shocking but mostly a head nodding reminder of the 1980's.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 28-05-24
Who is it for?
I don't really get who the book is aimed at. It's mostly just a list of facts without much insight. The narration is suitably bland for the book.
The format was good. Each chapter deals with a different aspect of society, arts, technology etc. It was just too broad for my taste.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Olivier
- 25-06-12
What the movie "The Iron Lady" should have been
For all those who were sorely disappointed at the recent movie "The Iron Lady" (a 90-minute movie that had about 10 minutes about Thatcher and the 80's), this book is for you.
It covers much more than just Margaret Thatcher; it truly covers all the 80's and what a breadth of coverage and perspective.
It explains the changes that occurred in the 10 years before Margaret Thatcher was elected (with hugely informative examples on inflation), to explain the context of her election in 1979. It explains how the UK in 1979 was a place that would be "alien" to most of us (banks did not do mortgages; building companies did, and they did not offer bank accounts, only 33% of Britons had a bank account, most salaries were paid in cash, credit cards were almost unheard of, waiting to get a phone line was 3-6 months, ....) and then contrasts how the UK had changed totally by the end of the 80's.
I gave this book 5 stars because anyone interested in the subject matter should read (listen to) it. However, it is not perfect.
The author has a clear anti-Thatcher, anti-Falklands bias. Yet, although the bias is palpable, the information is so detailed and well presented that one does not mind the bias (which has the merit of being honest). I think that what make the author's bias palatable is the fact that he pulls no punches when describing those he obviously cares for (Bob Geldof, the Labour Party, the Miners' Union) making his barbs at Thatcherism even-handed.
The author also seems to be a specialist of obscure "musicians" whose main claim to fame is anti-establishment lyrics, rather than any musicality, and this emphasis does make the chapter on the music of the 80's overly long and, past the halfway point, uninteresting.
The reader of this audiobook was fine (I cannot really remember what he sounded like, which must be a compliment)
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11 people found this helpful